Chemical Equation
Generally, the chemical equation for stoichiometric burning of hydrocarbon in oxygen is
For example, the burning of propane is
Generally, the chemical equation for stoichiometric incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon in oxygen is as follows:
For example, the incomplete combustion of propane is:
The simple word equation for the combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen is:
If the combustion takes place using air as the oxygen source, the nitrogen can be added to the equation,as and although it does not react, to show the composition of the flue gas:
For example, the burning of propane is:
The simple word equation for this type of combustion is hydrocarbon in air:
Nitrogen may also oxidize when there is an excess of oxygen. The reaction is thermodynamically favored only at high temperatures. Diesel engines are run with an excess of oxygen to combust small particles that tend to form with only a stoichiometric amount of oxygen, necessarily producing nitrogen oxide emissions. Both the United States and European Union have limits to nitrogen oxide emissions, which necessitate the use of a special catalytic converter or treatment of the exhaust with urea (see Diesel exhaust fluid).
Read more about this topic: Combustion
Famous quotes containing the words chemical and/or equation:
“We are close to dead. There are faces and bodies like gorged maggots on the dance floor, on the highway, in the city, in the stadium; they are a host of chemical machines who swallow the product of chemical factories, aspirin, preservatives, stimulant, relaxant, and breathe out their chemical wastes into a polluted air. The sense of a long last night over civilization is back again.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“Jail sentences have many functions, but one is surely to send a message about what our society abhors and what it values. This week, the equation was twofold: female infidelity twice as bad as male abuse, the life of a woman half as valuable as that of a man. The killing of the woman taken in adultery has a long history and survives today in many cultures. One of those is our own.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)